R. Kelly Freed From Chicago Jail After Paying Child Support

Singer R. Kelly was released from a Chicago jail on Saturday after a child support payment of more than $161,000 was made to an ex-wife, police said, ending his second incarceration in two weeks after a prior arrest on s_ex assault charges.

The performer, 52, was arrested on Wednesday over the unpaid support for three children he has with Andrea Lee. The Cook County Sheriff’s Office had said he would have to pay the full amount to be freed.

“I promise you, we’re gonna straighten all this stuff out,” Kelly told reporters and a smattering of fans who had gathered outside Cook County Jail. “That’s all I can say right now.”

Last month, Kelly was arrested and pleaded not guilty to charges he had sexually assaulted three teenage girls and a fourth woman. He has denied similar abuse allegations for decades. In 2008, the singer was tried on child pornography charges and found not guilty.

Kelly bailed out of jail on the sexual assault charges on Feb. 25 and had since complained of financial difficulties, saying in an interview with CBS that “so many people” had access to his bank account and had stolen from him.

In the interview, he also tearfully and angrily rejected allegations that he had se_x with underage girls.